Fall for You
by Lyra Script
Summary: "Tonight will be the night, that I will fall for you, over again, don't make me change my mind." Hermione spends her nights in the Heads common room learning a certain song on the piano, and Draco Malfoy learns it with her, in a completely different way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Re-Introduction

After the war, students who had opted out of seventh year were invited to come back and finish their schooling. Harry and Ron, unsurprisingly, had decided against it, but Hermione wanted to go back. She received her Head Girl badge the day after she sent in her confirmation. September 1st, she set out with all of her bags and books, all the Weaslys and Harry off with her to say goodbye. She hugged Harry and Ron, giving the latter a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing aboard the train, waving to them all before they disappeared from view. She patrolled the train, from back to front, helping first year and reprimanding the older students. It was well after lunch by the time she made her way to the Heads compartment, and she was surprised by what she saw inside.

She hadn't expected it. She thought the Head Boy would be someone like Ernie Macmillan, or Michael Corner. Those would have been the logical choices, given that they fought for Hogwarts and were some of the top students here. But McGonnagal must have followed Dumbledore's belief that everyone deserved a second chance, or had a discussion with his portrait because when she reached the door to the Head cabin, she saw a shock of white-blonde hair through the glass. She knew that after the war, he had 'switched sides' in a way. He helped Kingsley (the new Minister of Magic) to identify the remainder of the Death Eaters, and removed all traces of the Dark Arts from Malfoy Manor. But she hasn't thought he'd come back to Hogwarts, let alone become Head Boy, given everything he'd done. But she supposed that if he was the choice McGonnagal had made, she would deal with it. She took a deep breathe and slid the door to the side, then slipped inside the compartment and closed it again.

Hermione sat across from him, taking care to ensure their knees didn't touch. "Hello, Malfoy," she started, uncertain if everything that had happened the past year would change anything, particularly the names that he seemed fond of calling her. She was used to them of course, and they wouldn't keep her from her duties, although she wouldn't hesitate to slap him if necessary. But she thought life would be much more pleasant if the name-calling was kept at a minimum.

"Afternoon, Granger." He continued to stare out the window, watching the countryside pass by silently. He seemed to be done talking to her, so Hermione pulled a book out of her bag, The Tales of Beedle and Bard. Even though it was a children's book, she still loved reading it, because it was from Dumbledore, and the stories were so fascinating, yet simple. She was pulled out of her reverie when he chuckled. Still not looking at her, he said, "always with your books, eh Granger?" Startled, she gave a sound that he must've taken as an affirmative, because he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. She opened her book again and began to read, lost in the world of a child's fairy tale.

She had finished that book, and was switching it out for another before he spoke to her again. "So. You're Head Girl." She couldn't help the sarcastic reply that came out of her mouth. "Obviously, why else would I be here?" She realized how rude it sounded, and was going to apologize when he interrupted with, "easy, tiger. That was a statement, not a question. I knew it would be you." She waited for the usual terms of "bookworm" or "nerd" but they didn't come. So she responded with, "you're Head Boy."

He laughed again. "Obviously, why else would I be here?" He smirked, but it wasn't his usual "I'm so much better than you" brand. It was kind, almost friendly. Yes, he had mocked her, but it was good-natured, a word she never thought she'd use to describe anything this boy did. So she smiled and tried to go back to her book. But he interrupted her once more by saying, "I was surprised too. I thought it would be the Boy Wonder, but considering that he's not glued to your side at the moment, I'm assuming he opted out of coming back?"

She was shocked to not hear any malice when he spoke about Harry. "Yes, he and Ron both decided not to return. I encouraged them to continue their education, but when have they ever listened to me?" She smiled wistfully, and waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. He had closed his eyes again and leaned on the window, so Hermione figured he was done talking. She took a new book out of her bag, another that she had already read, and longed for the library, where there would many new books for her to explore. The rest of the trip was spent in silence, on both ends of the compartment.

When the train stopped, she put her books away, and he stretched out across the seat. They stood and went separate ways, Hermione herding the older students toward the carriages, and Malfoy bringing the first years over to Hagrid. They arrived at the castle at the same time, and went to sit with their Houses. She was greeted by old friends, and he sat alone. McGonnagal, as new Headmaster, gave the welcoming speech and started the sorting. After the hat was put away, the feast began, and Hermione was grateful for the elves in the kitchen, deciding to visit the kitchens sometime that week.

After the feast was over, the prefects led all the students to their dormitories, while the Heads followed the Headmaster to her office. It looked a lot different from the last time Hermione had been there, but no less wonderful. McGonnagal made the office look almost regal.

"Your duties will include nightly patrols, and planning any extracurricular activities. You'll also be planning the Halloween party and decorations this year, as I don't have much of a knack for decoration that appeals to uounger students." she smiled at this. "You may or may not have known this," she started, "but the Heads always share a common room. On the fourth floor, down the hall from the restrooms, there is a painting of a woman on a bench. She's normally quite quiet, and she won't let anyone in your dorm that doesn't know the password. The password at the moment is 'apothecary' but feel free to change it at any time. You'll have separate rooms, each with its own password, and there's also a sitting room and a kitchen, should you feel the need for a snack. Right now there's only a sofa and some side chairs, but is there anything else you'd like in your sitting room? An office desk, perhaps?" She looked expectantly at Hermione with this. But it was Malfoy who said, "yes, an office desk would be nice. It wouldn't be too much trouble?" "Of course not," McGonnagal stated. "I'll have one brought up for both of you. Is that all?" He nodded. "Well then, you're dismissed. Please, start your patrol immediately." He nodded once more, and turned to leave the room, stopping when he realized Hermione wasn't with him. "Granger," he called. "Patrols. Come on." But she stood looking at the floor thoughtfully. Then she said to him, "go on without me. I'll meet up with you in a bit." He shrugged, and left the office.

After he had gone, she said to McGonnagal, "would there be room in my personal dorm for... A piano? Not a grand, or a baby grand. A standing would be fine." The Headmaster looked shocked for a moment, then said "unfortunately, there isn't room in the dorms for much more than a bed and a dresser. The closet is there and you could store it there of course, but I doubt you'd be comfortable playing your instrument in such a tight space, and that would also limit how much clothes you could have. However, there is plenty of room in the sitting room, even for a baby grand if you'd like. I didn't know you played the piano, Miss Granger."

Hermione smiled. "I used to take lessons when I was younger. I haven't for a while, but there's a song I want to learn, and I remember the basics of reading sheet music. So I was just thinking, if its not too much trouble..." McGonnagal nodded. "It's no trouble at all. By the time you finish your nightly patrol with Mr. Malfoy, the desks will be in your dorm, and tomorrow after supper your piano will be waiting for you."

"Thank you," Hermione beamed. "I should probably go meet Malfoy now. Good night, professor." With that she left the office. She found Malfoy on the third floor, with a couple of second years who were trying to scare a first year with stories of the legendary three-headed dog. The rest of the patrol passed without incident, and they made their way back to the fourth floor.

Malfoy found the portrait, and said clearly, "apothecary." The woman on the bench nodded, and the frame swing forward. Hermione stepped inside first, and decided that the common room alone was worth becoming Head Girl. The walls were a soft beige color, and the sofa and chairs were white leather. The office desks that McGonnagal had gotten for them were on opposite sides of the fireplace, both of them a beautiful mahogany. When she explored the kitchen, she found a cozy little space, with a simple stove and a refrigerator stocked with fruits and vegetables, as well as milk and juice.

Finally, she looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly one in the morning. She left the kitchen and noticed Malfoy putting paper and quills into his desk, organizing it the way he saw fit. She called out to him, "I think I'll head to bed now, Malfoy." He nodded and said "of course, gotta be well rested for the first day of classes. I'll head in in a bit. G'night, Granger." "Night, Malfoy." She started toward her room and was about to enter when she heard him speak again. "I, uh, look forward to working with you, Granger." She looked at him for a moment, then responded with, "as do I. See you in the morning." She entered her bedroom, quickly changed the password to "Beedle and Bard," and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or the beautiful song Fall for You by Secondhand Serenade.

Contrary to McGonnagal's promise of next-day-delivery, the instrument didn't come. So she spent the next few days patrolling with the Head Boy, doing homework, and of course, spending as much time as possible in the library. The Heads didn't talk much, and when they did they were civil to one another, occasionally telling jokes and stories to pass the long patrol hours. They weren't quite friends yet, but she liked to believe they were close to becoming that. The piano didn't arrive until the end of the week, and by then Hermione was ready for it.

Malfoy had already gone out for the day, but she had a while before her first class, so she pulled her sheet music out of her bag and sat down at the bench. The piano was beautiful and obviously new. She wondered where McGonnagal had gotten such an instrument. The keys beneath her fingers were cool, and smooth as a sanded stone. She could see the fire reflecting off the black surface. She did her scales, then struck each key one by one. The strings were all perfectly tuned, and the overall sound was wonderful; she would have to thank the Headmaster later that evening. She played what she could remember of Fur Elise, albeit slowly, because she hadn't played full on in several years. By then it was time to head to class, so she set her music on the stand and left the common room.

Around noon, she headed back up during her lunch break to switch out her books. She walked in to find a very confused Draco Malfoy sitting at her piano, his fingers on the keys. He wasn't playing, simply sitting there, watching the instrument as if he expected it to play itself. Maybe that was what he was used to, she thought to herself. She cleared her throat loudly, and he jumped, accidentally slamming his hand on the keys. She laughed at the startled expression on his face, and he scowled and muttered something under his breath, low enough that she couldn't hear. "What is this?"

"A piano. Baby grand. Musical instrument, maybe you've heard the term?" She laughed at the way he glared at her. "I know what a piano is. What I meant was, what is it doing here?"

"Oh. I'm trying to learn a song, so I asked McGonnagal to get it for me." She leaned over and pointed at the sheet music. "Fall for You. It's a beautiful song, and personally I think the piano part is sort of difficult, but you know me. I love a good challenge." He picked up the music and squinted at it, trying to make sense of it. "How are you supposed to learn from this? It's just a bunch of little black dots on a piece of paper, it makes absolutely no sense."

She tsked at him. "Well of course it doesn't make sense to you, you can't read sheet music." She paused. "Neither can I really, not fluently anyway. But I know the basics on it. It will probably take a while, but I'll learn it. See, each line and space corresponds with a different key. Like this top line here, goes with this here," and she played an E. "There are all sorts of tricks to memorize what lines and spaces go with what notes. And then there's all the accidentals and key signatures which makes everything more complicated. But the real difficulty isn't reading the notes, it's playing them. You have to move both hands at the same time and usually they're completely different. My piano skills are very limited, but I'm sure I'll manage." She glanced at the clock then, and said, "we should probably head out for class now. I'll see you later." With that, she headed up to her room, switched out her books, and left the dorm, with Malfoy behind her.

Later that day, after supper and after she had went to the Headmaster and thanked her for the beautiful piano, she went back to the common room. She once again found the Head Boy sitting at the instrument. He looked up when she walked in and gave a nod, then redirected his attention back to the sheet music. As she came farther into the room, he pointed to the paper and said to her, "I've decided something. You're insane. None of this makes any sense, it's ridiculous." He looked quite pleased with himself.

She responded with "that's only because you don't know how to do it. You don't like things you don't understand." She laughed as he sputtered like a dying engine and turned red, trying to think of something to retort with but coming up short. She headed toward the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge, deciding on an apple then making her way back out to the sitting room. She settled on the sofa, took a bite from her fruit and watched him watch the piano. His face was a mask of contemplation, and she didn't think she'd ever seen him looking so perplexed. It was amusing.

She finished her snack and tossed her apple core into the trash by her new desk, and sat in the chair, intent on starting her homework. She pulled out her textbooks and parchment, took her new quill from the desk drawer, and began writing an essay for professor Slughorn on the effects of wolfsbane potion. While she wrote, her companion struck a key. He glanced at her to see if she'd object to him touching the instrument, but she was fine with him experimenting, as long as he didn't break it. He started playing with the keys, going from note to note, slowly trying to decipher the different sounds the piano made. He occasionally made a discontented noise if he played notes that didn't work together, or he'd hum in satisfaction when he managed to get a good sound. They sat in the common room, together but submerged in different activities, and were content to stay that way.

Suddenly there was the sound of clashing keys, and Hermione gave a shout and nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked up and saw Malfoy, his hands still splayed across the piano, laughing as she stuttered and tried to compose herself. She felt her face go red as she yelled at him, "that's not funny," but he either ignored her or couldn't hear her over himself. Irked, she slammed her textbook shut, then walked over and swatted him in the head, much like she used to do to Harry and Ron when they didn't pay attention in class. His laughter subsided to a light chuckle, and she grabbed her bag and stomped to her bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

The events that night were apologized for, and life continued on at Hogwarts.

Hermione's birthday came, along with a tin of homemade fudge from Mrs. Weasley and a book from Ron and Harry. Malfoy gave her a new quill, a white peacock feather, which she deemed "too nice to actually use," so it sat on display on her desk.

She never got much of a chance to learn the song, between all of her homework and the nightly patrols with Malfoy. Another obstacle was the Head Boy himself. She didn't want to try to learn around him. She knew it was irrational, but she felt as though if she tried to learn around him, he'd laugh at her. He couldn't play either, so she didn't know why she thought this. Maybe it was just that she wasn't as good as playing as he thought she was; when she tried to learn songs before she could only master small sections at a time, and even that took her quite some time.

This song in particular was challenging for her, because of the space between the notes. Playing piano had never been her strong point. She had always thought her fingers were too short, and her teacher had always told her that she played as if she was learning it from a textbook. So she had given up for a while. But she was Hermione Granger, who excelled at most things, and she wanted to be good at an instrument. And if she wanted to play the piano then damn it, she was going to play the piano and play it well.

It was the beginning of October before she got the chance to fix all of her attention on the music. She and Malfoy finished patrolling, and as he went to his room, she sat at the piano. She decided to go one page at a time; she took out her quill and wrote the letters of the notes on the paper, so that she had a visual and wouldn't have to guess what the note was, because she was usually wrong. After that, she started with the right hand. Right away, she had trouble; her thumb and pinkie just barely reached the octave necessary, and she thought for a moment she might have pulled something in her hand. But she grit her teeth and continued on, messing up often, seldom getting the right sound.

After sitting at the piano for three hours, Hermione slammed her fingers across the keys and groaned loudly. She was sure there was a spell somewhere that would make her fingers longer, that could improve her skill, or that would even make the piano play itself, but she wanted to learn it on her own. She turned at the sound of a door opening, and Draco stuck his head out of his bedroom and called to her, "sounded like you dropped something. Everything alright?" She frowned at herself, and replied, "yeah. Everything's okay, I just got a little… frustrated," and she was disappointed to hear her voice crack a little. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"Not a problem," he said, "but it's past midnight. You should get to bed, rest up for Flitwick's test tomorrow." And with that he closed his door and left her alone once again. She sighed and closed the lid on the piano, placing her music inside the bench for another time.

She didnt have alot of time after that. The rest of the nights in October were spent with Malfoy in the sitting room, planning for the Halloween feast. Hagrid would be heartbroken if they decided against his giant pumpkins, so they had to stay, although Draco did have a great idea about having color-changing candles inside of them. They decided on skeletons, hanging from the ceiling, occasionally cackling and laughing. McGonnagal approved everything they suggested, and many teachers helped with the preparations.

The Feast came and went without much incident, and by the time Hermione stumbled back into the common room that night, she was too tired to attempt the piano.

She and Draco continued on their way to becoming friends. They often sought out each others advice on academic matters, and because of their new friendship, their strength and efficiency as Heads improved. Many of their nights were spent sitting by the fire, checking each others homework and discussing assignments. Unlike with Harry and Ron, the two were able to have in-depth conversations about intelligent topics, wars that had happened and why, theories on major cases and laws, and an assortment of other things. They'd challenge each other with questions, and most of the time Hermione was right. Once, they were discussing the origins of the enslavement of house elves, and they started arguing about a particular fact. When he proved to her she was wrong, she wouldn't talk to him for days, doing the nightly patrols in silence and her homework in her bedroom. She forgave him after she came back to the dorm one day and found him sitting at the piano, dressed in bright pink robes. He dramatically struck a chord, and in a falsetto sang, "I'm sorry you were wrooong," and she laughed so hard she didn't remember to be mad at him.

Draco's experimentation on the piano was showing progress. He could play and had memorized a few different chords, even if he couldn't name them, and was fairly good at keeping a beat. Hermione wasn't teaching him; he refused to let her help him. But he must have been born with an ear for music, because he went with what he thought sounded good. He couldn't read sheet music, said he didn't have the patience for any of that, but he enjoyed just messing around, playing whatever he pleased. Meanwhile, she was making some progress with the song. She could now get through the first verse of the song with only a few mistakes, and sometimes when she knew Draco wasn't in the dorm, she would sing along with her playing.

Thanksgiving passed, with a letter from Ron and Harry and the rest of the Weasley's, saying that they missed her and hoped she'd come up for Christmas, if her Head Girl duties didn't prevent her. Hermione wasn't sure she wanted to go to the Burrow though. Of course she missed everyone, and they missed her as well. But Draco showed no signs of going home for the holidays, and he didn't have anybody that he was close to at the school. If she left, he'd be alone on Christmas, and no one deserved that.

The weeks went by, and the holidays came closer. The planning on decorations was simple, the same spectacular trees they had every year, with strands of popcorn that would fly around the room and drape themselves across unsuspecting students and staff. Hermione had already gotten the perfect gift for Draco. She had found it one weekend in Hogsmeade, in the new Antique shop. It was a stone arrowhead, green with hints of black when the sunlight hit it just right, and it was held on a leather cord. It was small and thin, so it would be easy to hide under his clothes, and she thought the Slytherin colors would appeal to him. She knew she didn't have to get him anything; he was still rich after the war and probably had everything he could ever want. But they were friends now, and friends got each other things, even if they were simple things and only cost as much as a wand.

By the time Christmas Eve came, Draco's present was wrapped and ready to be placed under the tree they had put in their common room, beside the piano. But to her surprise, there was another package already under the tree, with her name written in a neat script.


	4. Chapter 4

Christmas morning found Hermione sitting in front of the fireplace, a letter from Ron in her hands. It didn't say much really; just that he wished her a merry Christmas, that he hoped she wasn't working too hard, and also that he loved her and missed her. But for some reason, that last part made her feel uncomfortable.

Recently, when she thought about Ron, she got this feeling; not a bad feeling, just a feeling that she was doing something wrong. Maybe she felt that he would think being friends with Draco was somehow betraying him. That made no sense of course, because they had done nothing more than laugh with each other on their nightly patrols, and she and her ginger friend were not technically together, but Ron had a tendency to overreact, and she knew that just being alone with the Head Boy would be enough to send Ron into a frenzy. She had a feeling that something inside her, something about her feelings was changing, but she wasn't quite sure what...

It was then that Draco Malfoy burst out of his room, singing a muggle Christmas song. She had taught him a few, purely for academic purposes, but he clearly had seen a use for them. She laughed as he made his way across the sitting room, dropping to his knees in front of her chair and continually getting louder in his voicing of Deck the Halls. He grabbed her hands and brought them above their heads, swaying from side to side. He kept singing as he released her, switching his tune to Joy to the World, and he made his way over to the tree and grabbed two of the packages beneath it, their gifts to each other. He finished his singing and gave her a smile as he handed her his present.

She unwrapped it slowly, exposing a jewelry box, and he said to her, "I know you were probably expecting a book, but I wanted to get you something you could keep with you." She opened the small box, and pulled out a silver bracelet. There were a few charms dangling off of it; a book, a treble clef, and a lion, as well as a small red pendant framed in gold. "I tried to find a lion with the Gryffindor colors, but no one had one. But I hope you like it anyway." He smiled at her, and she resisted the urge to hug him, instead just saying to him, "it's beautiful. Thank you so much." He shrugged, then moved to his own present. His eyes widened as he saw the arrowhead, and Hermione's first thought was that he hated it, and she immediately began apologizing.

"I'm sorry, I know it's not much. I would've done something more but that was all I could afford at the time-" and then he interrupted her. "Granger. It's fine. I like it." He held it up and the fire glinted off the pendant, making the black shine clearly. "It's actually awesome. Where did you find this?" She smiled at him and explained about the antique shop in Hogsmeade, and he made a plan to stop down there some weekend. They finished unwrapping their presents (a book from Harry and Ron, a handmade sweater from Mrs. Weasley, and some new joke items from George), then they made their way downstairs together, stopping only once to separate a couple fifth year students who claimed they saw mistletoe and had been attached at the lips.

McGonnagal stopped at their end of the table to compliment them on the decorations, especially the popcorn that was currently wrapping itself around Slughorn's bald head. They laughed at the sight, and Hermione even more so when Draco tried to sic a strand on the Headmaster, only to have it turn on him instead. There were only a few students at the castle this year, so McGonnagal told them they were free from their Heads duties today. Malfoy went off on his own, and Hermione slowly made her way up to the common room, to try to continue learning her song.

Draco had gone back up to his room to get a quill so he could write a letter home. As he was rummaging around in his desk, he heard singing coming from the sitting room, and he held his ear to the door so he could make out the words.

"Best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting,

Could it be that we have been this way before?

I know you don't think-"

The voice cut off with the sound of clashing keys; she had struck a wrong note. Muttering under her breath, she tried again, with the same results. She didn't sing the next few times, which strangely disappointed him, because he thought she had a nice voice. After about the tenth time she messed up, she gave up. He heard her sigh, heard the faint sound of her closing the lid over the keys, and heard her walk out and shut the door behind her.

He exited his room, staring at the piano, then at the door she had just walked through. He sat down at his desk and wrote his letter home, telling his mother that yes, he'd write more often and yes, everything was fine. He walked to the owlery alone, and sent out the letter with a school owl.

During this, Hermione sent a letter back to the Burrow. She thanked everyone for the presents, and told Harry and Ron about her and Draco's new friendship. She didn't expect they'd take it very well, but she didn't want to lie to them or keep it a secret. So she told them that they were friends, and that she was fine. The next day she received a letter back from Ron, demanding that she either stay as far away from Malfoy as possible, or that she come home immediately. She responded with a letter that spit water at him when he opened it.

New Years was boring for the Heads. They sat in their common room, passing the time with homework and studying. While everyone else was out partying, the pair sat silent, lost in their own thoughts. It was after Malfoy had gone to bed that Hermione went to the piano. Very slowly, very quietly, she started playing the song. And for the first time, she didn't make any mistakes.

The Head Boy was listening at the door. She wasn't singing this time, but he heard her making her way through the song and getting all the right notes. From what he could tell, she was right; it was a beautiful song. He didn't know all the words yet, but he was sure she'd sing again sometime, so he'd learn it then.

He took a moment to think about how far they'd come as friends. They had hated each other, more on his end. And yet, here they were, sharing a common room, exchanging gifts, laughing with each other about crazy things. He regretted now more than ever all the times he had called her a mudblood or some other nasty name, so he decided he'd do something for her to show that he was sorry.

For the first time that night, Hermione hit a wrong key, but by then Draco had fallen asleep, wondering how he could get the Gryffindor princess to truly forgive him.


End file.
